Device for testing, adjusting and focusing headlights



J. HILL Feb. 19, 1935. u

DEVICE FOR TESTING, ADJUSTING, AND FOCUSING HEADLIGHTS Filed July 9,1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l l 1 I J I l I l l l r l i I l l l I l I l I l l Il I l INVENTOIZ'.

ATTORNEYfi Feb. 19, 1935.

DEVICE FOR TESTING, ADJUSTING, AND FOCUSING HEADLIGHTS Filed July 9,1932 s she ets-sheet 2 T MES Hi" 6/ WP INVENTOR.

J. HILL Feb. 19, 1935.

DEVICE FOR TESTING, ADJUSTING, AND FOCU-SING HEADLIGHTS Filed July 9,1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNVENTORZ JAMES H \LL ATTO RNEY5.

; section,

Patented Feb. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR TESTING,ADJI I F STING AND FOCUSIN G HEADLIGHTS James Hill, Mitchell, Ontario,Canada Application July 9, 1932, Serial No. 621,713 3 Claims. (01.88-14) This invention mates to devices for facilitating the testing,focusing and adjustment of motor vehicle headlights.

The invention has for its object to provide a device of simple andcompact construction which is quickly and easily operated to test and adjust headlights in an accurate manner. J

The improved apparatus is small and easily portable and doesnot requirea large space or level ground or any other special condition for itsoperation. 7

The invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangementof parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in theappended. claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way. ofexample, a convenient embodiment of the improved apparatus:

Figure 1 is a sectionalelevation of'the improved lamp focusing andadjusting device,

.l igure 2, is a front elevation of the device,

Figure 3 is a plan of the device,

Fig,ures 4,v 5 -an d 6 are diagrammatic sectional elevationsillustrating the operation of the dev1ce,

Figure 7,is, an elevation of asupport for still further facilitating theoperation of the imp oved device,

Figures is a plan view of Figure? partially in Figure} is a diagrammaticside elevation illustrating the use of the device shownin Figuresrand-8,

Figure is a perspective view of an attachment for use when thesupporting member shown The improved apparatus comprises a rectangu larcontainer or box 1 having opaque side, front,

rear and bottom walls, which may conveniently be. made of sheet metal.'I'hetop wall of the box, formed by a translucent screen ,or panel 2,preferably of ground glass. 1 The front wall of .thebox 1 isprovidedwith a pair of: parallel,

horizontal slits 3 ands and the panel 2 ,is pro vided-p with two setsofparallel index lines5, 5== and 6, 6 6 to cooperate with beams of lightte n throu t e slits. Band here a te l des r bed A mirrorio equivalentrfl st n surface 7 is mounted in the box 1, preferably at an angle of 45with respect to the front wall and to the glass 2.

A levelling device such as a spirit level 8 is mounted at any suitablelocation on the box, preferably on the glass 2, and the box walls may beextended upwardly beyond the glass 2 fora suitable distance as shown inFigure 1, to protect the level 8 andalso to shield the glass 2 tosomeextent from the exterior light.

Anadjusting screw 9 is mounted in a lug 10 on the bottom of thebox for apurpose to be described later. i

The reflecting surface 7 and the ground glass 2 are held rigidly andaccurately in position by any suitable means, for example, by angularbracket members 11. V

The operation of testing a headlight for correctfocus will now bedescribed with reference to the diagrams shownin Figures 4, 5 and 6.

The front wall of the boxl is placed flat against thelens of theheadlight which is indicated at 12, and the box is moved until the upperslit ,3 is attthe centre of the lens. The index lines 5 and are sopositioned that a beam of light 13, directfrom the lamp bulb 14,isreflected by the mirror 7 to illuminate the space between the lines 5and Bewhen the slit 3 is at the centre of the lens. -If the-lamp is infocus a beam of light 15, reflected by the lamp reflector and passingthrough the lower slit 4, willbe reflected bythe mirror 7 at such anangle as to illuminate the space between the index lines 6 and 6 asindicated ineFigure 4.; If the lamp 14-is too far from the reflector 12the illumination from the beam 15 will appear on the glass2 at the rightof the lines 6 as viewed in Figure 5. If the lamp is too close to thereflector the beam 15 will appear to the leftof the lines6, that is,nearer the headlight, as indicated in Figure 6. I

The lamp 14 is focused by themeans provided therefor .on the headlight,usually by turning a screw at the back of the headlight in theappropriate direction. This adjustment is continued untilthe-light fromthe beam 15 falls between the lines 6 and 6 Meanwhile the box is heldstationary so that the light from the beam 13 remains between the lines5 and 5, this condition being shown diagrammatically in Figure 12 inwhich the light from the beams 13 and 15 is indicated by stippling.

When the lamp has "been focused the headlight is tested for correctalignment or faimiinthe following mannen The screw 9 is turned and itsend bears against l the lens of l the headlight. and

thus forces the lower part of the box 1 away from the lens, the top ofthe box 1 being kept pressed against the lens. The light from thereflected beams 13 and 15 will move towards the headlight, the movementof the beam 15 being greater than that of the beam 13 and thisadjustment of the screw 9 is continued until the light from beam 15 isjust past the centre index line 6 see Figure 13. The headlight is nowcorrectly aimed if the levelling device 8 indicates that the box islevel and assuming that the automobile is loaded at the time theadjustment is made. If the vehicle is unloaded, allowance is made forthe load by continuing the adjustment of the screw 9 until the lightfrom beam 15 is just past the line 6 as indicated in Figure 14. Thespacing of the lines 6, 6 and 6 is so calculated that the adjustmentdescribed above complies with the ofiicial regulations at the placewhere the adjustment is made. For example, the space between the lines 6and 6 may be such that with the adjustment indicated in Figure 14, thetop of the beam will be five inches below the centre line of the lamp attwenty-five feet from the headlight.

If the box is found to be not level the mounting of the headlight is nowloosened and the headlight is adjusted until the levelling device 8indicates that the box is level. The headlight is then re-clamped inposition and the aiming operation is complete.

The box 1 thus provides a very small and compact device by means ofwhich focusing and aiming can be quickly and accurately effected underany conditions. The box may be 'made very small, for example, 3 x4x1 andit will be noticed that the size might if desired, be even furtherreduced by omitting that portion of the box which lies beneath themirror 7. e

When the testing is done in a garage, the operation may be furthersimplified by means of the devices shown in Figures '7, 8 and 10.Figures 7 and 8 show a supporting member comprising a bar 16 having alongitudinal slot 17. Two clamping and self-centering devices 18 and 19are slidably mounted on the bar 16 and are formed with angularlydisposed, integral walls 20. The member 18 has a projection 21 whichfits slidably in the slot 17 to prevent rotation of the member 18 on thebar 16, and a clamping screw and nut 22 are provided to secure themember in-the desired position on the bar 16. The member 19 is providedwith a clamping screw and nut 22, but may rotate as well as slide on thebar. Clamping screws 23 fitted with rubber caps 24 may also be mountedin bosses on the walls 20.

A detachable extension device comprising twoslidably connected bars isadapted to project into the end of the slot 17, the whole device beingarranged to be extended to a suitable length and clamped in position byscrews 26, the length of the bars being such that they can be extendedto a total length about equal to the maximum distance between theoutside edges of automobile headlights.

When the supporting device is to be used, the bars are assembled asindicated in Figures 7 and 8 and are held in a horizontal position infront of the headlights to be tested. The screws 22 and 22 are loosenedand the members 18 and 19 separated. The members 18 and 19 are thendisposed on opposite sides of a headlight and are moved towards eachother until the walls 20 engage the sides of the lamp. The parts'18 and19, in this position, are separated by a distance in excess of thelength of the slots 3 and 4. When the four points of contact of thewalls 20 are in engagement with the headlight the slot 17 in the bar 16is in position across'the centre of the headlight. The nuts 22 and 22are then tightened and in order to prevent anyslipping of the supportingdevice, the screws 23'are screwed in to bring the resilient heads 24into engagement with the headlight. In placing the device in positionthe bars are kept horizontal so that outer extension bar 25 occupies thesame position relative to one headlight as the upper part of bar 16occupies with respect to the other headlight.

When the supporting device is in position on the headlight the bars 16and 25 are separated a short distance from the headlight lenses, andsuitable means are provided to attach the testing box 1 to the bars inan upright position with respect to the lens. A suitable device for thispurpose is shown in Figure 10, and consists of a plate 27 havingparallel lugs 28 on each side thereof, and an inverted channel or hook29 at the top. The lugs 28 have aligned perforations arranged toregister with similar perforations 31 provided in the side walls of thebox 1. This device is placed on the front of the box 1 as indicated inFigure 9 and a pivot pin 32 is passed through the aligned holes and 31.The plate 27 is also provided with openings 33 and 34 so disposed astoregister with the slits 3 and 4 respectively, and a projection 35 isfurnished to engage the headlight lens and support the box 1 initiallyin upright position. I

The slits in the box 1 areso arranged that the upper slit 3 registerswith the slot 1 7 in the bar 16 when the channel 29 is hooked on thebar. The operations of testing, focusing and aiming are now the same asthose hereinbefore described except that the box is now centered on thelens by simply hooking the box 1 on the bar 16 and when the screw 9 isadjusted the box pivots on the pin 32. V

When one headlight has thus been focused,

aimed and levelled, the box 1 with its attach ment is removed from thebar 16 and hooked on the bar 25 in front of the other headlight. Thesame operations are repeated in the reverse order.

The box 1 is already adjusted and levelled, and.

account of lateral displacement-of the lamp, thiswill be indicated bythe illumination on the glass 2, as the light images on the glass willtaper laterally to one side or the other, instead of being rectangular.

The level 8 may be provided with an adjusting device if desired, forexample, as shown in Figure 11. level is provided at one end with apivot projection 36 which engages a depression in the box wall, and atthe other end with a lug 37 having a screwthreaded hole engaged by a,screw 38 rotatably mounted in a U-shaped' bracket39 carried by theopposite wall of the box 1 The level may be adjusted by rotation of thescrew 38'and the latter is then sealed against unauthorized tampering oraccidental displacement by a sleeve 40. v

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings are given by way ofexample only and- According to this construction, the

modifications within the scope of the appended claims may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example,Weighted pointer or index arm 41 (see Figure 9) may be used if desired,instead of a spirit level, the arm being pivoted at its upper end andprovided with a pointer at its lower end to cooperate with an arcuateseries of graduations.

Instead of using the supporting devices shown in Figures '7 to 10, thedevice'shown in Figure 15 may be employed. This comprises a member 42having vertical side walls or lugs 43 and an adjusting screw 44corresponding to the screw 9 shown in Figure l. Aligned pins areprovided at 45 whereby the box 1 can be pivotally mounted in adetachable manner between the lugs 43.

The member 42 carries a rearwardly projecting rod 46 which slidablyextends through a bore in a block 47 mounted on top of a telescopicstandard or post 48 arranged on a suitable base 49 adapted to stand onthe ground. Clamping screws 50 and 51 are provided to secure the member42 and post 48 in adjusted position. It is thought that the operation ofthis device will be clearly understood without further description as itdoes not affect the operation of the box 1.

What I claim is:-

1. A headlight testing device comprising a container, an index means onone wall of said container, a plurality of apertures in another wall ofsaid container, a reflecting surface rigidly mounted in said containerto reflect beams of light entering said apertures on to said indextachment for detachably supporting said container on said supportingmeans in a normally upright position and means for adjusting the angularposition of the container in relation to said attachment.

2. A headlight testing device comprising a container movable in anydirection and having apertures in one wall, a reflecting surface rigidlymounted in said box, an index mark on another wall of said box locatedto receive light reflected by said reflecting surface directly from thelamp of the headlight, another index mark located to receive lightreflected by said surface from the reflector of the headlight when thelamp is in focus, means for angularly adjusting said container about ahorizontal axis with respect to the headlight, and further index meanslocated to receive light reflected by said reflecting surface from theheadlight reflector when the necessary angular adjustment of the box iseffected by said adjusting means, and levelling device on said containerto indicate level when the reflected light appears against said furtherindex means and the headlight is properly aimed.

3. A headlight testing device comprising a container movable in anydirection and having apertures in one wall, a reflecting surface rigidlymounted in said box, an index mark on another wall of said box locatedto receive light reflected by said reflecting surface directly from thelamp of the headlight, another index mark located to receive lightreflected by said surface from the reflector of the headlight when thelamp is in focus, a levelling device on the box and a levelling screw onthe lower part of said box and arranged to project beyond the aperturedwall of said box.

JAMES HILL.

